shimmer

I was listening to Episode 3 of Lance and Graal this morning (yes, I'm an episode behind), and heard an interview with Tom Johnson, a Wiccan parent who was recently prohibited from teaching his son about his religion. The whole situation is really quite shocking. Both parents are Wiccan, and their 10-year-old son has been raised Wiccan from birth. There is no disagreement between the parents about whether to raise their son in their religion, nor does the son disagree with this. Nevertheless, a commissioner and a judge have prohibited the couple from raising their son in the religion of their choice.

Tom Johnson has created a website about all this, which explains more: Define Mainstream?

In May of 2003, the Jones' separated and filed for divorce. A preliminary hearing gave the parents joint custody with physical custody being granted to the father.

In July of 2003, both parents and the child are interviewed by the Domestic Relations Counseling Bureau.

In February 2004, the parents attended the final divorce hearing. During it, the commissioner of the Indianapolis Judicial court system had concerns, specifically, about how their religion was practiced and what implications they had on the child. The father answered her questions to the best of his ability. Her specific concern, however, was if they practiced Satanism. His response was, “I can’t worship something if I don’t believe in it.”

Several weeks after the final hearing, both parents were shocked to read in the final divorce decree, “(j) That the parents are directed to take such steps as are needed to shelter (child) from involvement and observation of these non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals.” As both parents were Wiccan, they could not understand why the courts felt this needed to be included.

In March of 2004, an attempt was made by both parents to have the amendment removed from the divorce decree. In a Verified Motion to Correct Errors, their lawyer, Alisa Cohen, outlined how Wicca was a recognized religion, citing several court cases as well as including an excerpt from the U.S. Army Chaplain’s Handbook.

In November of 2004, a hearing was conducted with the parents, their lawyer and Judge Cale Bradford. The lawyer spent most of her time trying to dispel many of the negative myths and stereotypes surrounding Wicca. He ruled to keep the decree the following day.

In March of 2005, the father, along with his Indiana Civil Liberties Union attorney, Ken Falk, filed the brief with the Indiana Court of Appeals.

Posted by Jean on Tuesday, August 02, 2005 at 8:26 AM | Permalink